


A Snack to Rekindle Your Love

by chrisgiaconfetti



Category: Karneval (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends, Fluff, Loss, M/M, Minor Character Death, goldfish, snacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 03:42:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11935590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chrisgiaconfetti/pseuds/chrisgiaconfetti
Summary: Nai and Gareki bond over goldfish.





	A Snack to Rekindle Your Love

**Author's Note:**

> A oneshot for my favorite boys! I do have more written for this, though I don't think I'm going to post it, but let me know iy you'd like me to!
> 
> Enjoy!

It had been ages since Nai had spoken to Gareki. Probably since gradeschool, he mused. They were very close once upon a time, but Gareki had ended up going to a private middle school, while Nai remained in the public school system. They’d drifted apart, and though Nai knew Gareki wanted to get a good education, it didn’t stop him from missing his best friend.

 

When Nai started high school, the last thing he expected was to see Gareki roaming the halls.

 

He looked different, Nai noticed. He looked more weary, he looked tired. He’d never been particularly full of life, but something must have happened that absolutely drained Gareki. Nai made a note to himself to ask about it, should they start talking again.

 

Nai hadn’t made other friends in middle school. People cared about him, sure, but he wasn’t close with anyone like he had been with Gareki. Nai didn’t know his classmates beyond their names.

 

And Gareki, having not been in the middle school that pooled into their high school, didn’t know anyone, either.

 

Both were alone in the halls, in classes, during lunch, but still, they hadn’t said even one word to each other in the entire first three weeks of school.

 

They had one class together - world history. The teacher was laid back, it was a fun class, and one of the six hours Nai actually looked forward to (and he definitely was not biased by the fact that he could gaze at Gareki the whole period and no one seemed to notice or care enough to point it out). 

 

On this particular day, they weren’t doing much of anything. They had a test the next day, and today was meant to be used to study the content, but Nai was perfectly confident he would get a good grade on the test. And so, it seemed, was Gareki.

 

Both of them weren’t doing anything. Not looking at notes, not quizzing people around them, nothing. A grumbling stomach interrupted Nai’s staring at Gareki, as lunch was still two periods away, and Nai didn’t eat breakfast. He pulled out a bag of goldfish, the extra-cheddar kind, and started to snack while admiring Gareki from afar. 

 

Something seemed to tug Gareki’s attention towards Nai, and they locked eye contact for a solid minute, maybe two, maybe five, Nai couldn’t really tell, and didn’t really care. It was the kind of eye contact that really should be awkward and uncomfortable, but feels so natural anyway, like there was nothing else, no one else, this white-haired boy  _ should  _ be looking at.

 

Gareki’s line of sight shifted just a bit, off Nai and onto his goldfish, for only a moment before it returned to the scarlet eyes. Soon after, Gareki was, as it looked, hesitantly getting up and striding across the room, and before Nai could really process what that meant, Gareki was seated in the empty desk in front of him, turned so Nai could get the best look at his mesmerizing side profile.

 

“Hey,” was the only thing Gareki offered for the first few minutes of sitting like this. After an amount of time where it was almost sinful to reply instead of ignoring what was said, Nai replied with a simple, “hi.”

 

“Um,” Gareki stuttered, and it felt weird to hear him do that. He was always so confident in what he said, and he never stuttered. “Can I… Can I eat some of your goldfish?” He asked shyly, like Nai might reject him, and Nai had to giggle at the way he asked. 

 

“Of course, Gareki,” was his reply, as he handed the bag over to his friend. “How have you been?”

 

“I’ve been alright, I guess,”  the dark haired boy muffled out through a mouth full of goldfish. Nai couldn’t help but laugh, actually laugh, at Gareki’s oh-so-improper etiquette.

 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Nai got out, lightly, as if it wasn’t a request, nor a rule, nor something Gareki had to follow at all. After the count of a few silent beats passed, Nai spoke again. “How was it at your middle school?”

 

Gareki looked directly at Nai, dropping the goldfish that were supposed to go into his mouth back into the bag, and he looked absolutely melancholy. “Lonely,” he said, in a way that almost made Nai cry, and he thought for a moment that a tear might actually drop. 

 

“I wished you’d gone to the school I went to,” Nai admitted.

 

“I do, too.” Those were the last words spoken. Nai and Gareki sat in silence, sharing the goldfish, for twenty minutes until the bell rang and they moved to their next class. 

 

**

 

When lunch hour finally arrived, Nai knew where he was going to sit.

 

Gareki always sat in the same spot, at the same table, with no one else sharing the space. Nai had also noticed, early in the year, that Gareki very seldom had food.

 

Nai always bought lunch, and today was no different. He decided to get a brownie for his friend, he purchased the food, and headed to the table Gareki sat at.

 

Upon arriving, Nai plopped the brownie in front of the boy with the goggles. Gareki lifted his head to look at Nai, who was just sitting down, and he appeared to want to say something, but held his tongue and let Nai sit in silence. 

 

Gareki was the first one to speak, and though anything he might say was welcome, what came out of his mouth this time was jarring.

 

“My parents died,” he said, quietly, but clearly.

 

Nai turned his focus from his food to his friend, unsettled and unsure of what he just heard. “W-when?”

 

Gareki looked down. “April.”

 

“April of this year?”

 

“Yea.”

 

“How are you?”

 

“I’m fine,” he lied.

 

“Gareki…”

 

“Nai, I’m fine. Don’t push it,” he snapped. “I told you because I trust you, because I want you to know. Don’t worry about me, I’m okay.”

 

Nai took in a breath and studied this boy in front of him, this person who was taller and steadier and stronger, but who appeared to be fraying at the edges. “I just want you to be happy,” Nai confirmed, as if Gareki couldn’t infer that, didn’t know that since the day they met 8 years ago.

 

Gareki sighed and opened the brownie that was still sitting in front of him.

 

“Are you living on your own?” Nai wondered aloud, and Gareki took a bite of the brownie and swallowed before answering.

 

“I am.”

 

“You could come live with me,” Nai offered, and it came out sounding more jubilant than he desired it to.

 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gareki countered, and Nai didn’t push this time.

 

“Okay,” he agreed, though he wasn’t sure why it wasn’t a good idea.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Any comments and/or kudos are appreciated :)


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